Step by step operated, partial revolution wrench



Aug. 23, 1955 J. A. TAYLOR ET AL STEP BY STEP OPERATED, PARTIAL REVOLUTION WRENCH Filed June 11, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR JHM ES 9. THYLOR ERN ESTWjE/LL ATTORNEY Aug. 23, 1955 J, TAYLQR ET AL 2,715,847

STEP BY STEP OPERATED, PARTIAL REVOLUTION WRENCH Filed June 11, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JHMES FL TAYLOR ERNEST B.DRLSKELL ATTORNEY United States Patent Of ice 2,?l5,847 Patented Aug. 23, 1955 STEP BY STEP OPERATED, PARTIAL REVOLUTION WRENCH James A. Taylor and Ernest B. Driskell, Greenville, S. C.

Application June 11, 1951, Serial No. 231,024

15 Claims. (Cl. 81-53) The present invention relates to wrenches having predefined stroke and, more particularly, to wrenches adapted for rotating flyer hub assemblies.

When rayon or silk single yarns require twisting wi out doubling, they are passed through an up-twister.

The bobbin of untwisted yarn is placed upon a vertical spindle, and the yarn is twisted as it passes through two eye wires projecting from a rotatable flyer. The twisted yarn is thereafter wound upon a horizontal bobbin.

In normal usage the projecting eye wires of these flyers become bent or broken, the tlyers are therefore so constructed that the wires are replaceable. In a widely used standard construction, the wires are fitted snugly in guides and their inner ends are bent around a rotatable hub and are locked in place beneath a locking disc which is afiixed to the hub. The locking disc has two flanges which are separated by arcs of 110 and each of which spans an arc of 70. Thus, by rotating the flanged locking disc through 90, the wire ends are released, while a further rotation through 90 in either direction locks them into position again.

In the past this disc rotating operation has been performed with a manually operated wrench, using a fixture to hold the flyer immovable. This operation has been troublesome and time-consuming, because the flyers are quite small (usually not exceeding 1% inches in length and inch in width), thus making rotation of the flanged disc into locking and releasing position a delicate task, and because the rotatable disc is hard to turn, as it must fit tightly in order to prevent loosening of the wires during use.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for producing rotational motion through a predetermined arc of rotation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a wrench of predefined stroke for releasing and then locking flyer wires in place in two successive operations without need of special adjustment by the operator.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of an apparatus in accordance With the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, taken along line 22, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation of another apparatus in accordance with the invention;

Figs. 4 and 5 are details of the Wrench assembly of Fig. 3;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are detail views on an enlarged scale of a flyer in position on the holding fixture of the apparatus of Fig. l, and showing different stages of rotation of the locking disc during operation of the apparatus;

Figs. 9 and 10 are detail views similar to Figs. 6, 7 and 8 but showing different stages of rotation of the locking disc of a flyer during operation of the apparatus of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic front view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, taken along the line 1111, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Broadly speaking, the present invention comprises a reciprocating member, the axial motion of which serves to operate a rotary member associated therewith, and including means for regulating the length of the arc of rotation of the rotary member. More particularly, a reciprocating member is provided for moving a wrench into and out of engagement with a locking disc of a flyer positioned upon a fixture and the wrench is caused to rotate through an arc of rotation determined by the axial stroke of the reciprocating member, at least when the wrench is in engagement with the flyer.

The following description applies to the apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 11.

Reference character 1 indicates a base or support having a platform 3 fixedly mounted thereon. Integrally constructed with the platform 3 is an anvil or fixture 5 adapted to receive a flyer, and having a center post 6, over which the hub of the flyer fits. At another portion of base 1 there is a port 7 therethrough, in which port is mounted the reciprocable piston rod 8 of a pneumatic cylinder of conventional type including a piston 9' and a chamber 10 above the piston. The upper portion of the chamber 10 is connected to a pressure air line 12. The three-way valve 14 controls application of compressed air through the line 15 and exhaust of air through the line 16. The former is adapted to lower the piston and the latter to permit it to be raised. A lever 13 is affixed to the valve 14 and a foot pedal 19 is attached to the end of the lever and when the pedal is depressed by the operator it swings the lever downwardly against the tension of a spring 17. The spring 17 is attached at its upper end to the base 1 and at its lower end to the end of the lever, and holds the lever normally in the position shown. When the lever 13 is in the position shown the valve 14 permits exhaust of air through the line 16, and when the pedal 19 is depressed the lever turns the valve to a position that admits compressed air into the chamber 10 through the line 15.

There is a tubular member 18 attached to base 1 and in alignment with port 7, and the piston rod 8 passes through this tubular member for reciprocation therein. An arm 20 is fixedly mounted on the piston rod 8 by means of a hub 22, which is affixed near the top portion of the piston rod. A compression spring 24 envelops the upper portion of the piston rod below this hub, and the spring is compressed between the hub 22 and the upper surface of the tubular member 18, so as to raise the piston rod upon release of the air pressure through the line 16. The piston need not be spring-mounted if, as in the apparatus of Fig. 3, the chamber 10 is provided with air lines at each end so that the piston may thrust in either direction by air pressure.

The arm 2t) extends horizontally in the direction of the anvil or fixture 5 and at the end removed from the piston 8 it terminates in a hub 26 in which is fixedly positioned an inverted cylinder 25. A plate 21 is aflixed to one side of the arm 20 near the hub 22. A shaft 28 provided at its upper end but not at its lower tip with a thread having a helical angle beyond the coefiicient of friction is fixedly mounted within the cylinder by the pin 27. The threaded shaft 28 is in axial alignment with the center post 6 of the fixture 5. A cylinder 30, which is adapted to telescope up into the cylinder 25, is keyed to the spirally grooved portion of shaft 28 by means of an internally threaded nut (not shown), cylinder depending from the shaft 28. A spring 29 augments gravity in urging the cylinder 30 toward the V lowermost grooved portion of the shaft 28.

. teeth of the ratchet 50.

At the bottornmost portion of this cylinder 30 there is located a wrench 31 having a cleat 36 in a recessed portion 37 at the bottom of the Wrench. This cleat is adapted to engage the flange of a flyer locking disc.

Also positioned on the hub 26 are two rods 33 and 33', which pass through the hub for reciprocation'therein; The rods 33 and 33 are enveloped respectively by.

the compression springs 34 and 34', and the springs are compressed between the lower surface of the hub 26 and 'the upper surface of the pads 35 and 35', respectively, which are aflixed to the lower ends of the rods 33 and 33', so that the rods are normally held in the position shown. The rods and pads are so positioned that the pads engage the wires of a flyer mounted upon the anvil 5 upon a lowering of the piston rod 8 before the wrench 31 engages the flange thereof, and hold the flyer firmly in place for action thereon by the wrench.

On the' piston rod 8, below the base 1, there is a ring or collar 40 which determines the full stroke downwardly and/or upwardly of the piston rod. This collar or ring is so positioned in practice that a full stroke is completed when the wrench has been brought into engagement with the flyer and thereafter rotated through the predetermined arc, in this case 180.

Located in the base 1, intermediate in position between the fixture 5 and the tubular member 18, there 'is an orifice 42 and in axial alignment with this orifice is a guide 43. Through this orifice'and guide there fpasses a rod 45. The collar 44 affixed to rod 45 sup- I comprises four rodlike projections 48, 48', 48", and 48",

all of'which are associated with a ratchet 50. A pawl 52,.mounted ,on the ring 40, is, adapted to engage the Each exhaust stroke of the piston rod 8 moves the ratchet 50 through 45 by means of the pawl 52. The cam rods 48, 48', 48", and 48" are spaced by an arc of 90, and they and the ratchet 50 are so positioned in relation to the pawl 52 that alternate f exhaust strokes of the piston rod 8 move one of the cam projections into position to engage the cam follower 47, in which position the cam follower 47 remains through the next or succeeding downstroke of the piston rod 8. On succeeding exhaust strokes of the piston rod 8 the pawl and ratchetmove that cam projection out of the position in which it engages the cam follower 47, there to remain during the succeeding downstroke of the piston rod 8. The cam follower is so positioned in relation to the rod 45 and the stop 46 that when it engages one of the cam-rods the stop 46 is vertically below the arm 20 and thus positioned to interrupt the descent of the piston rod 8 and-the cylinder 25. The height of the rod45 and the positionvof the stop 46 are so adjusted that, when the stop 46 is in position to engage the arm .The operation of the apparatus of the invention is extremely simple and can be carried out by relatively unskilled operators. 'The steps of operation on a typical ,flyer hub are illustrated in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, and reference is now made to these figures in conjunction with Figs. 1 and 2. A flyer 60, the locking disc 62 of which is in the position shown in Fig. 6, is placed in the fixture 5. The operator depresses the pedal19, thus moving the lever 13 downwardly and turning the valve 14 so that air under pressure is admitted to the chamber of the cylinder 9 through the air inlet 15 and thereby, under the influence of the increased air pressure, a downward stroke of the piston rod 8 is caused to occur. The cam follower is in engagement with the cam rod 48", so

that the rod 45 and the stop 46 are turned into position to engage the plate 21 affixed to the arm on the downward stroke of the piston rod 8. The pads and 35 on the rods 33 and 33 are brought into engagement with the wires of the flyer, holding the flyer firmly against the fixture 5, and then the wrench 31 comes into engagement with the flyer locking disc 62. As the piston rod 8 continues its power stroke, the hub 26 slips downwardly along the rods 33 and 33", compressing the' springs 34 and 34' and increasing the pressure exerted by the pads 35 and 35 upon the flyer wires which they engage, and pressure also is exerted upon the wrench 31, causing the cylinder or socket 30 to rotate over the shaft 28. As the cylinder 30 rotates, the cleat 36 in the recess 37 engages a flange 65 of the locking disc and rotates the disc 62 with the wrench; Since the stop 46 is in position, at the moment that the disc 62 has rotated through an arc of 90 the piston rod 8 has lowered the arm 20 and plate 21'into contact with the stop 46. Since the piston rod 8 can thereafter proceed no farther, additional rotational movement of the wrench 31 is prevented. The operator then releases the pedal, so that the spring 17 returns the lever 13 to its former position and thus turns the valve 14 to permit release of the air' pressure through the line 16, whereby the piston rod 8 is raised under the compressive force of the spring 24 and the arm 20, the rods 33 and 33 and the wrench31.

are returned to their original position. At the same time the pawl 52 engages the ratchet and moves it through an arc of 45, moving the cam follower .47 out of engagement with the cam rod and thus turning the rod 45 and the stop 46 aside, out of position to engage plate 2 on the next downstroke of the piston rod 8.

' At this point the flanges and 65 of the locking disc 62 are in the position shown at Fig. 7. The operator may now easily remove the original 'wires, a's shown at 70, 71 and 72, and insert new wires, as shown at 71', and 72'.

The operator now causes the piston rod 8 to make its second power stroke by depressing the pedal 19, which results in application of air pressure through the line 15 to the upper part of chamber as set forth above.

This again brings the pads 35 and 35' into engagement with the flyer wires, and the wrench 31 into engagement with locking disc 62. On this stroke, however, stop 46 is not in position, so that the piston rod 8 makes a full stroke, rotating wrench 31 through an arc of 180.

When the wrench 31 first engages the disc, the cleat 36 is in the position shown in Fig.7. After the wrench 31 has rotated through its first arc, the cleat 36 is in the position shown in Fig. 8 and at this point first engages the flange 65. As the wrench 31 rotates through its second 90 arc, with the cleat 36 in engagement with flange 65, itreturns the disc 62 to a position similar to thatshown in Fig. 6, except that the two flanges 65 and 65' are now reversed in position. thus locked in place.

The operatornow releases the foot pedal 19, which permits the spring 17 to return the lever 13 to the position shown and turns the valve 14, while the compressive force of the spring 24 exhausts the air from the chamber 10 through the line 16, so that the piston rod 8 makes the exhaust stroke, returning the arm 20, rods 33 and 33' and the wrench 31 to their original position. Atthe same time the pawl moves the ratches through an arc of 45,

thereby moving a second cam rod 48 into engagement with said cam follower 47, thus turning the stop 46 The new wires are back into position to engage the plate 21 on the arm on the next downward stroke of the piston rod 8. The flyer is then removed from the fixture 5, and the apparatus is ready to repeat the cycle of operations on another flyer.

The particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1 has vertically aligned orifices and 81 in the base 1, platform 3 and fixture 5, and a mechanical lift 83 comprising two prongs 85 and 86 adapted to be raised or lowered through these orifices. In this manner the prongs may engage a flyer 60 from beneath and thereby lift it, to enable the operator to grasp it more easily for removal from the fixture. Obviously, this lift may be controlled by a foot pedal or a hand operated lever, as desired, or may be omitted entirely.

The particular embodiment illustrated also comprises an oil reservoir 93 which is connected through a pipeline 94 to an annular recess 95 in the top of the fixture. This annular recess is adjacent to the center post 6 and contains a wick 96 which is adapted to oil the flyer hub a pneumatic cylinder be used for the operation of the device, as an electric motor or other source of power may be employed.

The following description relates to the apparatus shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Reference character 101 indicates a base or support having two platforms 102 and 103 fixedly mounted thereon. Platform 102 is supported by three rods 104, 104 and 104" which are mounted on the base 101. Integrally constructed with the platform 103 is an anvil or fixture 105 adapted to receive a flyer, and having a center post 106, over which the hub of the flyer fits.

On the platform 102 is mounted a pneumatic cylinder 109 of conventional type. The cylinder 109 is provided with a piston 111 and a piston rod 120, the cylinder being closed at either end to form a chamber indicated by the reference numeral 110. The upper portion of the chamber above the piston is connected to a pressure air line 112, and the lower portion below the piston to another pressure air line 112. The four-way valve 114 controls application of compressed air through the line 115 and exhaust of air through the line 116. A lever 113 is affixed to the valve and controls its position. The valve 114 is so arranged that when lever 113 is in the position shown line 112 is connected to line 116, and

line 112' is connected to line 115. With the valve and 120. On the other hand, when the lever 113 is in the dotted line position, the valve 114 connects line 112 with line 115, and line 112' with line 116, so that application of compressed air in the upper portion of the chamber 110 together with exhaust of air from the lower portion of the chamber 110 lower the piston rod 120.

A spring 117 is attached at its upper end to the platform 102 and at its lower end to the lever 113, and holds the lever normally in the position shown. A foot pedal 119 is also attached to the end of the lever 113, and when it is depressed by the operator it is adapted to wing the lever downwardly against the tension of the spring 117 into the dotted line position.

In the lower end of the piston rod 120 is an axial recess which is divided by a constriction 200 in the wall of the piston rod into two chambers 128 and 203. A shaft 130, having two sets of oppositely disposed helical grooves, each of an angle beyond the coefiicient of friction, extends up through chamber 203 and into chamher 128. The shaft is disposed in axial alignment with the center post 106 of the fixture 105. A collar 201,

secured to the shaft adjacent the upper end thereof, engages the constriction 200 when the shaft 130 is in its lowermost position, a compression spring 129 within the chamber 128 urging the collar 201 into engagement with the constriction 200. Secured to the lower end of the shaft 130 is a wrench 131 having one cleat 36 in a recessed portion 37 in its base. This cleat is adapted to engage the flange of a flyer locking disc. if desired, the wrench may have two cleats, spaced apart by an arc of 180", so as to engage simultaneously both flanges of the locking disc.

Associated with the shaft 130 within the recess 203 are parts (shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5 and now to be described) that operate to cause the shaft to rotate when forced upwardly into the recess 128 against the tension of spring 129 and to permit downward movement of the shaft without rotation. These parts comprise two rotatable gears 132 and 133, keyed respectively to the rightand left-handed grooves of the shaft by lugs (not shown) on their inner surfaces. Between the gears 132 and 133 is a removable spacer 205 which projects into an opening 205 in the wall of the piston rod. An annular stop 206, screw threadedly mounted in the lower end of the piston rod 120, engages the gear 133 to retain the same in the recess 203. Cooperating with the gears 132 and 133, respectively, are two fiat latch members 134 and 135, provided with respective fingers 138 and 139 adapted to engage the teeth of gears 132 and 133, respectively. A leaf spring 140 controls engagement of the fingers of the latch members with the teeth of the respective gears. A slide switch 141, having an operating knot 141 extending through a longitudinal slot in the side wall of the piston rod, is adapted to reciprocate the spring and thus to regulate the pressure exerted by it against the latch members 134 and 135. When the switch 141 is in the position shown in the drawings, the finger 139 of latch is thrust into engagement with the teeth of the gear 133, while latch 134 is free of gear 132. When the switch 141 is moved downwardly, the finger 138 of latch 134 is thrust into engagement with the gear 132, while latch 135 is free of gear 133. When the switch is in a position midway between these extremes, both gears are engaged by the latches. A sleeve 207, suitably apertured for accommodation of the knob 141' to permit limited vertical reciprocation thereof, encompasses the gears 132, 133, the spacer 205, the latches 134, 135 and the operating means therefor.

The finger 138, when in engagement with the gear 132, because of its eccentric position prevents the gear from rotating to the right, but does not prevent it from rotating to the left; that is, it slips freely over the gear when it is rotatably urged to the left. On the other hand, the finger 139, when in engagement with gear 133, prevents it from rotating to the left, but does not prevent it from rotating to the right; that is, slips freely over the gear 133 when it is rotatably urged to the right.

The operation of this mechanism is extremely simple. When the switch 141 is in the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the spring exerts pressure against the upper portions of the latch member 134 and the latch member 135. This tends to elevate the finger 138 of latch member 134 so that it does not engage the gear 132, but instead slips freely over it. Thus, the gear 132 is free to rotate to either the right or left. On the other hand, the spring 140 thrusts the finger 139 into engagement with the gear 133 and thus prevents it from rotating to the left, but does not prevent it from rotating to the right. Gear 133 operates in the left-handed threads of the shaft. When, therefore, the shaft 130 is thrust upwardly into the recess 128 at the time that pressure is exerted upon the wrench 131, it cannot rotate gear 133 to the left, because of finger 139, and thus it is forced to rotate to the right on gear 113. Thus, the wrench 131 likewise is rotated to the right. When, however, the shaft is withdrawn from the recess at the time that the piston the gear rotates freely about the shaft.

. 7 120 is raised and the wrench 131 is released from engagement with a flyer flange, the thrust of the shaft urges 'the gear 133 to the left. Since, however, the finger 139 does not prevent rotation of the gear 133 to the left, the

gear 133 spirals freely aboutthe shaft as the shaft is withdrawn. Thus, the wrench 131 does-not rotate while the shaft is being withdrawn from the recess When the switch 141 is in the dotted line position, the spring 140 exerts pressure against the lower portions of latch members 134 and 135. As a result, the finger 139 is elevated slightly so that it slips freely over the gear 133 and does not prevent it from rotating either to the left or to the right. On the other hand, the finger 138 is now thrust into engagement with the gear 132 and prevents it from rotating to the right, but does not prevent it from rotating to the left. 7 Gear 132 operates in the right-handed threads of shaft 130. Thus, when theshaft 130 is thrust upwardly into the recess 128 under pressure, it cannot rotate gear 132 to the right, because of finger 138, and thus When:

it is forced to rotate to the left on the gear. the shaft 130 is .withdrawn from the recess, however, it tends to urge the gear 132 to the left and, since the finger 138 does not prevent rotation of the gear 132' to the left, Thus,.the shaft does not rotate as it is withdrawn from the recess and, consequently, the wrench 31 does-not change its position during this operation.

, It is thus seen that at either position of. the switch 141 the shaft 130 rotates as it is thrust into'the recess,

Thev helical angle of the shaft 130 and the stroke of the piston 120 are so chosen that the wrench may rotate in either direction only through a maximum arc of 90 on each stroke of the piston.

The apparatus of Figs. 3, 4 and 5 may be operated 'in either of twoways.

Each of these methods is extremely simple .and can be carried out by relatively unskilled operators.

The steps of operation on a typical flyer hub using the first method are illustrated in Figs. 6 and 8, and reference is now made to these figures in conjunction with Figs. 3,4 and 5. Throughout this method, the switch 141 is in the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

A flyer 60, the locking 'disc 62 of which is in the position shown in Fig. 6, is placed in the fixture 105, g;

and the operator depresses the foot pedal 119, thus 'depressing the lever 113 and turning the valve 114 so' that air exhausts from the lower portion of the chamher 110, and air is admitted into the upper portion of the chamber 110, effecting a downward stroke of the piston rod 120. The wrench 131 is brought into engagement with the locking disc 62 and, as the piston rod 120 continues its stroke, pressure is exerted on the wrench 131, causing the screw shaft 130 to rotate to the right into the recess128; As the screw shaft 130 rotates,

i the cleat 36 in the recess 37 engages the flange of the lockingdisc 62 and rotates the disc with the wrench. At the moment that the disc 62 has rotated through an arc of 90, to the position shown in Fig. 8, the piston rod 120 has reached its maximum stroke. piston rod 120 can thereafter proceed no farther, additional rotational movement of the wrench 131 is prevented. The operator then releases the foot pedal 119, so that the spring 117 returns the lever 113 to a horizontal position, and thevalve 114 is turned to exhaust air from the upper portion of the chamber 110, and admit air into the lower portion of the chamber 110.

' The piston rod 120 is thus raised, but the wrench 131 remains in the same angular position, relative to the flyerlocking disc, because both the gears 132 and 133 v Since the 8 rotate, freely about the shaft 130 as the shaft 130. drops downwardly from the recess 128.

At this point the flanges 65 and 65 of the locking disc 62 are in the position shown in Fig. 8. The operator may now easily remove the original wires, as shown at 70, 71 and 72, and insert new wires, as shown at 71 and 72'. V

The operator now depresses the pedal 119 'and thus causes the piston rod 120 to make a second stroke.

, This again brings the wrench 131 into engagement with On this stroke, however, the wrench 131 the disc 62. not having rotated, the cleat 36 is in the position shown in Fig. 8 and engages the flange 65 directly upon contact with the flyer hub. As the-shaft screws into the socket and the wrench 131 rotates to the right through its arc, with the cleat 36 in engagement with flange 65, it returns the disc 62 to a position similar to that shown in Fig. 6, except that the two flanges 65 and 65' are now reversed in position. The new wires are thus locked in place.

The operator now releases the pedal 119, to exhaust air from the upper portion'of the chamber and admit compressed air into the lower portion of the chamber. This causes the piston rod 120 tovrise, returning the wrench 131 to its original vertical position. Again, the wrench 131 does not rotate, and thus the cleat 36 is in'a position, relative to the locking disc 62-, 180 removed from that shown'in Fig. 6. The flyer 60 is then removed from the fixture 105, and the apparatus but does not rotate as it is withdrawn from the recess. V is ready to repeat the Cycle of Operations 0 a h r In the second method of using the apparatus of Figs.

3, 4 and 5, the operation is as follows, the steps being illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. Reference is now made to these figures in conjunction with Figs. '3, 4 and 5.

The wrench 131 is modified slightly to provide it with two.cleats 136 and 136, spaced apart by antarc just equal to the arc spanned by the flanges of the locking disc of the flyers to be operated on, in this case, 70".

The switch 141 is in the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5. so that the shaft 130 rotates to the right as it screws into the recess 128. A flyer, the locking disc 162 of which is in the position shown in Fig. 9, is placed in the fixture 105, and a downward stroke of the piston rod 120 is made to occur by depressing the foot pedal 119 to depress the lever 113 and 'turn the valve .114

so as to exhaust air from the lower portion of the chamber llllthrough the line 116, and admit compressed air into the upper portion of chamber 110 through the line 115. The wrench 131 is brought into engagement with the flyer locking disc 162 and, as the piston rod 120 continues its stroke, pressure is exerted on the wrench 131, causing the shaft 130 to screw into the recess 128. As the shaft 130 rotates to the right the cleat 136 engages a flange 165 of the disc 162'and rotates the disc with the wrench. At the moment that the disc 162 has rotated through an'arc of 90, the piston rod 120 has completed its full stroke. Since the piston rod 120 can thereafter proceed no farther, additional rotational movement of the wrench 131 is prevented. The operator now releases the foot pedal 119, which permits the spring 117 to return the lever to'a horizontal position, thus causing valve 114 to turn and admit compressed air through the line 115 into the lower, part of chamber 110a'nd exhaust air from the upper part of chamber 110.

The piston rod and the shaft are thus raised, but thewrench 131 does not return to its original angular position because the gears 130 and 133 rotate freely about the shaft 130 as'the shaft drops out of the recess 128.

At this point the flanges and 165' of'the disc 162 are in the position shown in Fig. 10. The operator may now easily remove the original. wires, as shown at 70, i

71 and 72, and insert new wires, as shown at 70', 71 and 72. t

The operator now flips the switch 141 to bring finger 138 into engagement with the teeth of gear 132, and causes the piston rod 120 to make a second stroke by depressing the pedal 119. This again brings the wrench 131 into engagement with disc 162. On this stroke, the wrench 131 not having rotated, the cleats 136 and 136' are in the position shown in Fig. 10, and engage the flange 165 directly upon contact with the disc 162. As the Wrench 13]. rotates to the left into the recess 128, through its arc, with the cleat 136' in engagement with the flange 165, it returns the disc 162 to its original position, shown in Fig. 9. The new wires are thus locked in place. The operator now releases the pedal 119, which permits the spring 117 to return the lever 113 to its original position, and turns the valve 114, thus admitting air into the lower portion of chamber and releasing it from the upper portion of chamber 110 and causing the piston rod 120 to rise, returning the shaft to its original position, but again the wrench 131 does not rotate angularly because the gears 132 and 133 rotate freely about the shaft 130 as the shaft drops out of the recess 128. The flyer is then removed from the fixture 105, and the apparatus is ready to repeat the cycle of operations on another flyer.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the particular constructions illustrated without departing from the spirit of the invention. Also, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art, parts of one apparatus may be substituted for parts of another; for example, the wrench assembly of the apparatus of Figure 3 may be used in the apparatus of Fig. 1, and vice versa.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the wrench of the invention is simple of construction, requires a minimum of adjustment and is relatively compact. It permits rapid and easy replacement of flyer wires in standard or custom-made flyer hubs, the position of the cleats of the wrench being adjustable to fit any type and size of hub flange.

The following is claimed:

1. A device for rotating a part of a work piece through a predetermined angle which comprises fixed means for non-rotatively supporting the work piece, a member mounted for reciprocatory movement toward and from said support means, a wrench supported by said member and adapted during movement of said member toward the support to be brought into engagement with the part of the work piece to be rotated, said wrench and said member being formed with cooperating parts permitting combined rotation and translation of said wrench r on said member, means limiting the extent of movement of said member toward said support means and thereby limiting the angle of rotation of the wrench during motion of said member toward the support means and means operable after a predetermined number of strokes of said member to vary the extent of movement of said member and thereby vary the angle of rotation of said wrench.

2. The device according to claim 1 including stop means adapted when operated to decrease the length of stroke of said member toward said support means and means responsive to reciprocation of said member for rendering said stop means operable on alternate strokes of said member toward the support means.

3. The device according to claim 1 including power means for reciprocating said member.

4. The device according to claim 3 in which said power means is responsive to the control of an operator.

5. A device for rotating a part of a work piece comprising, in combination, a fixed support for the work piece, a member mounted for reciprocal movement a fixed distance toward and from said support, a wrench keyed to said member and adapted to be brought into engagement with a part of the work piece during movement of said member toward said support and to rotate relative to the member while in engagement with said part upon further movement ofsaid member toward said support, means for reciprocating said member, and a stop interposable in the path of movement of said member in response to a predetermined number of strokes of said member to limit the extent of rotation of said wrench.

6. A device according to claim 5 in which said wrench and said member are formed with cooperating parts permitting said wrench to rotate in one direction from its original position, relative to said member, to another predetermined position, relativeto said member, while in engagement with said part upon movement of said member toward said support, and then to rotate in the reverse direction, relative to said member, upon movement of said member away from said support, until it has returned to said original position.

7. The device according to claim 5 including power means responsive to the control of an operator for reciprocating said member.

8. The device according to claim 5 including control means actuated in response to reciprocation of said member for moving said stop intermittently into and out of the path of said member.

9. The device according to claim 8 wherein said control means includes a pawl secured to said member, a ratchet wheel having teeth engageable by said pawl during movement of said member away from said sup-- port, a cam surface moving with said wheel and a cam follower engaging said cam surface and connected to said stop, to limit the path of said member on alternate complete strokes thereof.

10. A device for rotating the flanged hub of a flyer for access to flyer wires comprising, in combination, a jig for non-rotatively supporting a flyer, a vertically disposed shaft mounted above said jig for longitudinal reciprocatory movement toward and from said jig, a wrench keyed to said shaft so as to rotate thereon upon engagement with a flyer hub during downward movement of the shaft, means limiting the down stroke of said shaft to control the angle of rotation of the wrench and stop means responsive to reciprocation of said shaft for decreasing the extent of downstrokes of said shaft.

11. The device according to claim 10, in which the stop means is adapted to decrease the extent of alternate down strokes of the shaft, whereby said wrench rotates through one angle on one alternate down stroke of the shaft and through a different angle on the other alternate down stroke of the shaft.

12. The device according to claim 10 wherein said wrench is formed with a part engageable with diametrically disposed flyer wire-locking flanges of a flyer hub and wherein said stop means and said limiting means are so positioned with respect to said jig as to limit rotation of said wrench to one angle on one down stroke of the shaft and to another angle on the next down stroke of the shaft whereby the wrench part engages a flange and rotates it on the first stroke into wire-unlocking position, and on the second into the wire-locking position.

13. The device according to claim 12 wherein said wrench part is so positioned with respect to said jig as to rotatably engage a flange of said flyer on one down stroke immediately after said wrench begins to rotate and on the other down stroke after said wrench has rotated through an arc of 90, and said stop means and 15. A device for rotating apart of anotherwise fixed workpiece throughspredetermined angles which comprisesa member movable a fixed distance from and towardsaid work piece, wrench means carried by said member and movable therewith, being adapted to be brought into engagement with said work piece by movement of said member, means carried by said member for causing said wrench means torotate upon further move ment of said member toward said work piece, following engagement of said wrench means with said part, and stop means operable at predetermined intervals to vary r ,12 a the distance said member canmove and thereby vary the angle of rotation of said wrench. .7

References Cjited'in, the file of this patent UNITED STATES'PATENTS 791,766 'Furbish" June 6, 1905 1,004,018 Greenbaum Sept. 26, 1911 1,704,067 Wick Mar. 5, 1929 1,754,978 Buss Apr; 15, 1930 1,808,959 Lane June 9, 1931 2,301,438 Moeller Nov. 10, 1942': 2,602,361

Meyer et a1, July 8, 1952 

